Darrell Scott's Wonderful Tribute

Wayne Scott's new album features unreleased material recorded 20 years ago.

Much-admired Americana singer-songwriter Darrell Scott chose Father’s Day to honour his late father Wayne with the release of a new album. No surprise there! Many artists over the years have used Father’s & Mother’s Days as an ideal occasion to remember lost parents, whether it be in concert or recordings.

But Darrell’s initiative could turn out to be the archival gem-of-the-year in Americana Music.

The album is titled Wayne’s Pain from Wayne Scott, but all 13 tracks are jointly credited to both father and son. The songs were selected by Darrell from studio sessions which resulted in his father’s only solo album This Weary Way, released in 2005 when he was 71. Six years later Wayne was killed in a car accident and so ended any speculation that he would release a follow-up to This Weary Way. That is until now!

For Darrell – himself a popular artist with 15 albums and a songwriter of acclaimed country tunes – has produced a superb collection of songs. They are mostly written by his father and traverse the many mixed genres of Americana from gospel to roots ‘n blues.

And, of course, it is largely a collection of left-overs from This Weary Way, a must-listen-to album enhanced by studio contributions from some of Nashville’s most sought-after musicians at the time – Guy Clark, Dirk Powell, Dennis Crouch, Casey Driessen, Suzi Ragsdale, Verlon Thompson and Tim O’Brien, who has been a long-time collaborator with Darrell.

Kentucky-born Wayne started writing songs when he was a teenager. But his formative years were spent working in car factories in Michigan and the steel mills of Indiana. At the age of 40, he moved to California and put together a band which played mostly in no-home-to-go-to bars and roadhouses across the Golden State. And by now his five sons Denny (Guitar), Dale (drums), Darrell (multi-instrumentalist), Don (bass) and David (piano) – raised in a very musical environment – were themselves professionals and would, at various times, join Dad’s bar-band.

Wayne performed few of his countless compositions while on the road – the honky-tonk hipsters wanted dance-along country! Darrell, of course, knew of his father’s passion for song-writing. Indeed, at one time, Wayne had given Darrell, as a Christmas gift, a notebook containing a 100 of his original songs.

Soon Darrell himself would impact on the Nashville scene. And many of his own compositions – like country-classics “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive” (Patty Loveless), “Out In The Parking Lot” (Guy Clark) and “Long Time Gone”  (The Chicks) – would be recorded by some of the biggest names in country. So now, with some clout in the industry, Darrell would convince his father it was time to go into the studio and record his original songs.

Darrell recalls that his father was somewhat reluctant to record: “He fought me on it. ‘I’m an old man’ he said ‘Why do you want to do it?’ But I was determined and as soon as we got into the studio with all those great Nashville musicians, he had a ball. That’s how I got my Dad to agree to the sessions. He really liked Guy Clark and was thrilled to sing a duet with him.”

In promotional material for the new album, Darrell added: “I think there’s a world of talent out there that doesn’t get recognised. All of us - performers, companies, media – act as hit songs just fall out of the sky, when that’s not true. Fame is about the promotion and the opportunities lining up as it is about the talent. What my Dad’s records show is that a lot of great talent doesn’t get heard or seen or felt for the lack of a business strategy.”

And so was born This Weary Way. It was produced by Darrell and included nine Wayne compositions, two father-son collaborations and cover versions of classics “Crash on the Highway” and “Folsom Prison Blues”.

But, as in most recording sessions, there was a bunch of left-over songs sitting on the archival shelf. And, after nearly 20 years, Darrell decided it was time to pay homage to his Dad with the long-overdue Wayne’s Pain.

What distinguishes the follow-up release from the original is that Wayne’s Pain features all five Scott brothers and - to take it to a third generation – Darrell’s son Abraham, who gets an engineering credit. Darrell wanted to get the brothers involved in the first album, but there were logistical issues. So, when it was time to assemble, and overdub vocals and instruments, he booked recording sessions in Las Vegas, closer to where the brothers lived.

Wayne’s Pain is aptly named because most of his songs delve deep into the dark world of loss, loneliness and alcohol-abuse.

“That’s the dark side, the scary stuff,” said Darrell. “With drinking you eventually sober up, but the loneliness never goes away. I know that’s how he felt; he wasn’t getting poetical for the sake of the song. It came from the territory, that’s the way he lived. With his writing he gets in there, no matter what the cost.”

He added: “He was almost as though he was given a license that he could say whatever he wanted in song. He took that license to the moon and back!”

No better is that “license” demonstrated than on “If The Bottle Don’t Kill Me,” an aching ode to drinking and loneliness. In a rich baritone voice – close your eyes and might be hearing Johnny Cash or Merle Haggard – Wayne delivers lines deep from his heart:

The bar-room is empty it’s time to go home

The duke box is playing the last drinking song

The sign in the mirror says cold wine for sale

Again I’m reminded of the first time I failed

If the bottle don’t kill you the loneliness will

The tone is similar and just as sad on “I’m Here Alone,” a beautiful, slow, talk’n-blues lament which again conjures up the sadness of being on your own in a crowded bar:

The waitress reminds me of a page from the past

Of love that was wanted, of love that don’t last

The sign that says exit reminds me she’s gone

But something reminds me I’m here alone

With lines like that, it is no wonder Guy Clark – the man known as the songwriter’s songwriter – wanted to work alongside Wayne!

The same demons persist on “I know What’s Like To Be Alone,” the piano-infused “I’m Gonna Be Gone For Awhile,” and the sing-a-long “The Country Boy,” which, indeed, is very country. It could all be somewhat wrist-slitting, but in fact Wayne, with his achingly-sincere vocals, makes all the gloom warm and infectious.

The five Scott sons all feature on the honky-tonkish “I Wanna Be Ready” – their harmonies adding grunt to this foot-tapping, upbeat ditty:

I wanna be ready when the night comes

I wanna be ready for the sun is gone

I wanna ready to be real lonesome

As might be expected, life-on-the-other-side is featured on Wayne’s Pain, with thoughtful, melancholy renditions of three gospel classics, the traditional “ Wayfaring Pilgrim (Stranger),” “When God Comes To Gather His Jewels” and “A Picture From Life’s Other Side” – the last two popularised by Hank Williams. Wayne treats all three with respectful sincerity and he adds hauntingly-beautiful recitations to both the Hank songs.

Darrell put a capital “T” to tribute when he used the Vegas assemble-sessions to add a closing track - not including Wayne – on which the five sons deliver an appealing a cappella version of “I Still Miss Someone.” And there was a special reason he chose the endearing Johnny Cash song.

“That was a huge song for my family,” said Darrell. “When my grandfather Green Scott was in the hospital, he would ask my dad to sing it for him. For us it wasn’t just a Johnny Cash song but a folk song. We had to do it. We each sang lead on one verse. It’s that kind of song, generations deep.”

In an age when record companies are churning out loads of archival material – hoping to cash in on the streaming market – it is refreshing to discover an album of unreleased material motivated by love rather than biz. Darrell Scott has gone mining through in his father’s vault ….  and unearthed gold!

Paul Cutler

Editor Crossroads – Americana Music Appreciation